Air-heating device for beds and rooms



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. H. BOWMAN.

AIR HEATING DEVICE FOR BEDS AND ROOMS. No. 338,820.

Patented Jan. 5, 1886.

2265868; a? ma z (No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

W. H. BOWMAN.

AIR HEATING DEVICE FOR BEDS AND ROOMS. No. 333.820.

Patented Jan. 5, 1886.

N. PETERS. Plmm-Limu hur. Wnhinglon. I16.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WINTHROP HIGHT BOWVMAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

AIR-HEATING DEVICE FOR BEDS AND ROOMS.

SPECEEICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,820, dated January5, 186.

Application filed April 24, 1885. Serial No. 163,373. No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WINrHRoP HIGHT BOWMAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inDevices for Aerating Beds and Rooms; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a partof this specification.

This invention relates to means by which pure warm air may be suppliedto the space between the mattress and the covering-clothes which isusually occupied by a person when in bed. Ordinarily, the individual,whether sick or in good health, is closely covered by the sheets andblankets without any chance for a change of that air by which the personis surrounded when so resting between the bed-clothes. Now, theemanations from the body are well known to be considerable, and it isreally a question of health that the skin of the body should be suppliedwith fresh pure air, as well as the lungs.

My present invention more particularly relates to a device by which pureair, heated to.

any desired degree, may be passed into the space occupied by the personbetween the bedclothes. The action of said clothes, in connection withcertain other apparatus to be more fully described, performs the officeof bellows, to draw in pure warm air and expel that which has becomecontaminated by contact with the occupant.

It is seldom if ever that a person remains perfectly quiet or in oneposition the entire night, and any movement in turning or moving thelimbs beneath the, bed-clothes will create a slight lift of the same;hence there will be a constantly repeated inhalation of fresh air to andexhalation of impure air from the presence of the occupant.

The drawings accompanying this specification represent, in Figure l, aperspective view of a bed provided with my ventilating apparatuscontaining my invention, while Fig. 2 shows a rear sectional elevationof a heating apparatus and the air-pipes connecting therewith. Fig. 3 isa crosssection of the heater on line a: or of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 isacross-section of the regulating-valve. Fig. 5 represents a frontelevation of devices embodying my invention applied to a window.

In these drawings, A A represent the foot posts of a bed of anydescription, in which the side supports are shown at B B, and the slatsa a, &c., upon which rests the mattress. (Marked C.) One advantage in myapparatus is that neither the bed, mattress, or bed-clothes must be ofany special or particular description or make, since the apparatus, aswill be seen, can be readily applied to or removed from any bed at amoments notice.

As shown in the drawings, 1 have suspended a cylindrical heater, D, fromthe frame, eX- tending between the foot-posts A A by hooks orscrew-clamps or any fastening device by which to efiect a ready removal,if so desired. This heater may be made of any desired light materialcapable of retaining water. and is divided into two compartments, b c.The cylinder b contains the heat-maintaining fluid, preferably warmwater, while the inner and inclosed one, 0, receives the air to beheated. This air is admitted through two pipes, d d, which conduct airfrom the room or from an air box,whence pure cool air may be obtained,and the supply thereof is limited and regulated by two clapper or checkvalves, 6 e. The supply-pipes d d extend into the chambers 0, aboutcentrally thereof, since it is necessary to draft the warmest aircontained in it, and, besides, by such location of'the orifice of saidpipes the air passing out will be heated more uniformly. Furthermore,two similarly-disposed pipes,ff, lead from the heating'chamher and unitein a pipe, E, provided with perforations g g. This pipe rests at thefoot of the bed upon the top of the mattress and between the upper andunder sheets. In case water is used I provide a supply-inlet at h and adischarge-valve ath, while to prevent radiation of heat, and consequentrapid cooling of the heater and the pipes leading therefrom, I havecovered them with non-conducting material. (Shown at 11 '5.) By thismeans a small amount of hot water introduced into the heater willproperly heat for twelve or fourteen hours any air which may be passedthrough during that time.

The pipes for discharging the impure air, as shown at 75 7c, aresupplied with clapper or check valves 11, which permit warm impure airto escape, but are closed to the admission of air from the room. Thevalves 6 e, corresponding to the valves 1 Z, areintroduced within thesupply-pipes d d, and permit entrance of the fresh warm air within thebed, but are closed and prevent any return of the warm air back into thecylinder or chamber 0. The supply of air to the interior of the bed isto be regulated by the valvej, as shown in Fig. 4 as composed of acurved plate secured either upon the interior or exterior of theperforated pipe E, the perforations of the latter being closed more orless at the option of the occupant of the bed.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows: The heater is hung at thefoot of the bed with the supply and discharge air-pipes disposed, in themanner shown in Fig. 1, be tween the lower and upper sheets. Hot wateris then introduced and the apparatus is ready for use, it beingunderstood that the supplypipes d d receive their air from the room orfrom any source whence pure cool air can be obtained. Suppose the personto occupy the bed is an invalid, and it is required to thoroughly warmthe bed previous to its occupancy. The attendant takes hold of the upperbed-clothes, the sheet, blankets, or comforters and lifts them up anddown. Theresultantaction of thelil't of said clothes is to createasuction,which creates an inward current into and within the space to beoccupied by the person, at the same time opening the supplyvalves 6 efor the admission of warm air, and closing the discharge-valves Z Z. Onthe other hand, the fall of the clothes prevents any tendency of thecirculation to return to the heating-chamber c, closesthesupply-valvesee, and compels the air within the bed to pass outthrough the discharge-valves k it into the room.

This device, it will be readily seen, may be applied to a window for theventilation of a room, and answer equally Well,since in this particularinstance the pipes d (I would lead from the outside of the building andconnect with the heater, which may be located in any convenient part ofthe room, while the discharge-pipes, with their valves, may be connectedwith a ventilator either in the upper or lower part of the room. Thus acurrent of air and perfect circulation is obtained in the room, and inlieu of a cold current one very much modified in temperature, and yetpure, is always obtained, while if the door is opened or closed thecirculation is at once increased by an induced current of air throughthe ventilator.

In the application of this apparatus to abed it will be understood thatowing to the free play of the supply and discharge valves e e 11,respectively, and to the expansion of air in the hot-air chamber, itwill naturally follow that there will be a slight current inducedintermittently through the bed irrespective of any movement of thebed-clothes.

The advantages of this device to any bed, whether occupied by a sickperson or one in good health are equally obvious, and it is hardlynecessary to mention them; but it is especially meritorious from thefact that without any danger of fire the bed can be heated priortooccupancy, and thus the room is maintained cool while the bed-clothesare warm.

I claim- 1. A pipe for discharging into the space between the mattressand bed-clothing, in combination with a heater which is connected tosaid pipe and an outlet extending from said pipe, said outlet and thesupply-pipe of the heater being provided with check-valves located,respectively, in said outlet and supply pipe, to allow the action of thebedclothes in creating a current of warm fresh air, substantially as setforth.

2. A transverse warm-airpipe, E, arranged in the space between themattress and the bedclothes and provided with holes 9, in combinationwith a heater communicating with said pipe and an outlet pipe or pipesextending from it to the space below the bed, substantially as setforth.

3. The combination, with the heater, as herein described, and itssupplypipes 02 d,with their valves, of the connecting-pipesff andperforated pipe E, by which the air-current is permitted to pass intothe bed, substantially as stated.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WVINTHROP HIGHT BOWMAN.

Witnesses:

H. E. LODGE, A. F. HAYDEN.

